Food industry needs government push

JAKARTA (JP): The government must boost the competitiveness of the national export of farm products by providing fiscal incentives, a government official has said.

The Director General of Agricultural and Forestry Products Industries Sujata said yesterday that giving tax incentives to farm-related industries would help boost their exports.

"Farm-related industries need a push from the government to create more reliable export commodities," he said, adding that the sector must be given as much attention as other industries.

For example, food products could be exempted from value-added tax, he told journalists.

Food industries would also benefit from a direct export to countries without having to go through a third country, he said.

"This is an issue that needs to be addressed in order to boost the export of farm products," he said.

Sujata said food products could become Indonesia's main export, as the products contained less imported components.

He said investment in food-related industries increased by an average of 20 percent annually, while the export of food products rose by about 11 percent a year, he said.

Top exported food products were cassava, fish, cashews and cocoa, he said.

Sujata and several other officials from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture announced the country's plan yesterday to celebrate the 17th anniversary of World Food Day on Oct. 16.

World Food Day was initiated by the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in 1980.

This year's celebration will take place in Taman Mini and will be attended by President Soeharto.

Sujata said FAO's headquarters in Rome, Italy, would broadcast to television stations around the world a series of food-related programs called "telefood".

The programs included community service announcements, discussions and talk shows regarding food problems around the world.

FAO will adopt the theme of "Investing in Food Security".

FAO's representative in Indonesia Dato Abdul Wahid Jalil said yesterday that investment in the food sector could be in the form of technology.

"Investment not only comes from the government but also from the private sector and institutions with the same mission, to improve the agricultural sector," he said. (das)